Ukraine Recap: Biden Says Kyiv Isn’t Ready for NATO Membership

2023-07-08 15:22

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine hits the 500-day mark on Saturday. President Joe Biden told CNN that a vote

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine hits the 500-day mark on Saturday. President Joe Biden told CNN that a vote on Ukraine by NATO members would be premature, days before he heads to Vilnius for the military alliance’s summit. “I don’t think it’s ready for membership in NATO,” Biden told CNN correspondent Fareed Zakaria in the Oval Office on Friday, according to a partial transcript of an interview that will be broadcast on Sunday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul Friday evening for talks on issues including the impending expiration of the Black Sea grain deal brokered by Turkey and the UN. The visit was part of of a broader sweep of visits to NATO members. Zelenskiy swung by Snake Island in the Black Sea on his way back to Kyiv.

The US said it will supply cluster bombs to Ukraine to help ensure Kyiv has adequate firepower to press its counteroffensive, overruling concerns the weapons could lead to civilian casualties. Biden called the move a “difficult decision” given the risk posed by cluster bombs, but said Russia has been raining the munitions on Ukraine for months.

Intense fighting is underway again around Bakhmut in Ukraine’s east, the UK defense ministry said, adding that “Russian leadership almost certainly see it as politically unacceptable to concede” the city that’s been mostly razed over the past year. Russia fired Iranian-made drones at central and southern Ukraine on Saturday, Ukraine’s air defense said.

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Markets

Wheat Prices Fall on Russia Supply Outlook

Benchmark wheat futures fell for a second day on Friday as the outlook improved for supplies from key exporters France and Russia.

While the outlook for Ukraine’s grain shipments hangs in the balance, Russia’s wheat exports for the season that closed in June jumped to a record 46.6 million tons, and are likely to climb higher in the coming year, consultant SovEcon said.